The Best Way
by Niixx
Summary: AU. The power of the diner was that anyone that confessed their love there would be with that love forever. No exceptions. But Amu is determined to leave behind any past pretense of loving Ikuto Tsuikiyomi and move on with her life.


**Disclaimer:** Shugo Chara! = Peach Pit's, not Niixx's.

**Full Summary:** AU. The power of the diner was that anyone that confessed their love there would be with that love forever. No exceptions. But Amu is determined to leave behind any past pretense of loving Ikuto Tsuikiyomi and move on with her life. He's made it painfully clear that he believes she is just too young for him. But after a six-year absence, he returns to take her, by any means necessary. Unfortunately, those in his past will do anything to bring him down, even going so far as to take innocents down right along with him.

**A/N:** Because it's just easier for me, this is set in the U.S. Yes, everyone keeps their same names, but I don't wanna do any research today. XD

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**Chapter One  
**Homecoming

---------------

Amu Hinamori walked nonchalantly through her hometown, not paying any attention to the looks following after her. She'd been feeling them all week, since _he_ had come home. And they would continue until he left once again. She knew better than to wait for him.

It was no secret that Amu was in love with him. In fact, she'd made it quite clear to everyone and anyone: if she had her way—and she usually did—she would marry him.

When they'd been younger, he had been her protector. He was five years older than her and had started out as a kind of brother figure. Whenever a boy picked on her for her naturally pink hair or pigtails kept together with X clips, he would be there, placing himself next to her. He could scare anyone off with a single glare, which had been quite convenient for Amu when bullies had chosen her as their target. Soon, everyone realized what messing with her entitled, however, when one boy wouldn't back off and had ended up with a broken nose and blackened eye.

However, as they'd grown up—well, mostly Amu—she'd come to realize that he was the _only_ boy that she could put up with. She always kept herself as one of the boys, so to speak, around any other guy. But whenever she was around him…everything changed. She started wearing better fitting clothes, doing her hair, her makeup. But only when she knew she would be seeing him. She only "prettied herself up", as the Souma aunts declared, when _he_ would be around.

But once she noticed that guys were seeing her as something _other_ than a friend, a lightbulb clicked on in her head. She _could_ have him if she put her mind to it. But she would have to use different tactics then the other girls that hit on him used. He wasn't the kind of guy to fall for any girl because she _needed_ him. No, he would go after someone who proved they could live without him. Clingy girls would be a turn off. In that way, he was just like a stray tomcat. He didn't want to have a woman constantly on his arm.

So at the age of fifteen, she'd put her plan of making him fall in love with her into action. She'd dated casually, never having a real boyfriend. Everything she wore was meant to be provocative, but not skanky. No, that was another turn off of his; if the chase was too short, he'd get bored. All she had to do was get him interested and watch him follow her around. But how to get him interested when he made it obvious that he saw her as only a little sister like figure in his life?

Her plan didn't succeed until her sixteenth birthday, when he caught her—though she hadn't even _wanted_ him to at that point!—with her then-boy-toy, Tadase Hotori. He had dropped her off after taking her out to dinner and what had started as an innocent thank-you kiss turned into something more. Much, _much_ more.

Just as Amu was about to pull away, the passengers' side door slammed open and she found herself being yanked into her house, a terrified Tadase staring over her shoulder at the man holding her as if he had just seen God in full apocalypse mode.

She'd known immediately who was dragging her so unceremoniously. She mouthed to Tadase that she would call him after she dealt with a certain idiot just before she was thrust into her home. Disbelieving his audacity at that exact moment, she'd spun herself around to scream at him for his stupidity. How dare he! But before she could have unleashed her furious rage, she found her lips captured by his.

After her initial shock had fled, she began responding, digging her fingers into his blue hair, going onto her tiptoes to maintain better contact. His arms wrapped around her waist, keeping her locked to him. They stood like that for a long while before he pulled away, gaping down at her.

Then, without a word, he'd left.

For the six years since then, he'd only come back on rare occasions, traveling the world rather than settling anywhere. She wasn't surprised; he grew bored too easily to stay in one place for too long. _Which is why I've come to my decision_, she thought sourly, breaking into her memories.

He still visited her, of course. It was hard not to see her when their homes sat side-by-side. But he was always careful of where he met her, never allowing them to speak one-on-one. There was always a group surrounding them as a buffer, as if he were afraid that she would attack him.

She decided she was sick of it, sick of the hot-n-cold routine he had going. The looks he would give her would melt the glaciers faster than global warming, but the tone of his voice could freeze the sun. Everything he did around her was so carefully planned that she had found herself wondering if he were a robot on several occasions when she'd been forced to see him. And that wasn't how love was supposed to go, she knew. It was supposed to be mutual and happy and produce many children that everyone coos and awws over.

Knowing him, he was already thinking of ways to avoid her attention. He expected her to swoon over him, to try everything in her power to be alone with him. Oh, how surprised he would be when she ignored him.

Now that he was back in town, she'd show him that even though she loved him, she could just as easily find someone new. She didn't have to wait on him.

Which was the reason she'd even accepted a "date" with her friend Kuukai Souma. Sure, he wasn't bad looking, but she also knew that he was really only her friend and nothing more. In fact, she was almost positive that he was just using her to get Utau Hoshina jealous. And she was also ninety-nine percent certain it would work.

She walked confidently into the town's infamous Mom & Pop diner, aptly named "The Best Way". The diner's legend said that anyone who confessed their love—for the first time—in the diner would forever be with the person they'd confessed to. And it seemed like that was always the way it worked out. _But not for me._

Feeling the other patrons' eyes on her, she didn't let her chin drop. She strode to the booth where Kuukai was already seated, unashamed of how she had dressed for the occasion.

She wore heels, just as she always did since she was so damned short, that matched her black pleated skirt. It was of respectable length, showing just enough of her tanned legs to be considered sexy. Her T-shirt was a simple light blue that clung to her, but allowed her to breathe and showed only a thin line of her tanned belly. Her hair was thrown in a hasty ponytail, a few hairs falling out haphazardly.

She didn't wear makeup; she rarely did anymore. There was no need for it really; she couldn't use most eyeliners or mascaras because none of the colors worked with her hair color. Eye shadow just wasn't her, nor was lipstick. Cover up was too heavy on her sensitive skin and would cause breakouts rather than hide them.

"Kuukai!" she greeted with a smile, sliding into the booth across from him. Resting her chin on the backs of her hands, she tilted her head to one side. "How's the big, bad soccer man today?"

Kuukai was a pro soccer player, though no one in town paid any mind to it. His great-aunts, who practically ran the town, told everyone that he wasn't any better than anyone else and shouldn't be treated as such. And whatever the Souma women declared was law. Anyone who tried to go up against them found that nothing else they could do would be as big a mistake.

He gave her a charming, sideways grin that would have melted any other woman. "Even better now that you showed up," he said sincerely. Leaning closer, he whispered, "Ryuu Takeshi has been spreading rumors that I'm a liar. He says no one in this town could get a date with you in a million years. Because you're too stuck on"—he fluttered his lashes femininely, mocking her—"_Ikuto Tsukiyomi!_"

Though she was used to his teasing, she felt a small blush forming in her cheeks. "As if," she replied, straightening. "He's had all the chances he's gonna have, Kuukai. How long have I been chasing after that boy? No, I'm completely finished with—"

She should have known that tempting fate was a stupid idea. As if to taunt her, the door to the diner was pushed slowly open and everyone's eyes turned to watch who walked in, just like they did in the movies. It seemed like no one so much as breathed as a man entered the building.

He was tall, well over six feet. He was lean, but she knew he hid to-die-for muscles beneath his clothes. His hair was a dark blue that framed his face, a little shaggy and unkempt. When he turned a glare towards her, she saw that his indigo eyes hadn't changed, either. She had to swallow past the lump in her throat as he moved towards her, never taking his eyes off of her. She felt her mind going blank as he got closer…and closer…only a few more steps and—

Kuukai turned back to look at her and murmured with a knowing grin, "You were saying?"

She was going to kill her best friend once she was able to move again. God, but Ikuto could stop her heart from beating while doing something everyone else did.

_Snap out of it, Amu! Remember Plan Get-Over-Ikuto?! Don't forget about how long he's been gone and how big of a dick he's been! Don't let him control you in this degrading way! Show all these people staring just how much you _don't_ love Ikuto Tsukiyomi!_

The voice inside her head continued yelling at her even as she watched dumbly while Ikuto walked towards her, keeping his eyes locked with hers as a leisurely smirk came to his face. She could almost hear his low voice speaking her name in her head….

Kuukai, ever the loyal friend, kicked her beneath the table, watching with barely-suppressed laughter as she jumped, finally snapping out of her trance to glare at him.

"Damnit, Kuukai! That hurt!"

He clucked his tongue a few times. "Amu Hinamori, don't you know that ladies don't say such things?!" He smirked when she wadded up her unused napkin and threw it at him, missing his face by an inch. Without so much as blinking, he burst into laughter, which made her pout all the more.

"Shove it, Souma."

"When, where, and who will be shoving?" He ducked, narrowly dodging her tossed fork. Smiling, he brought his arms in front of him in a mock-karate pose. "Too bad I have cat-like reflexes, huh?"

Amu opened her mouth to retort and was pushed none-too-gently to one side as Ikuto slid into the seat next to her, throwing his arm around her shoulders as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "Hey, Souma," he said, taking a small piece of the bread left in the basket that sat in the middle of the table. Popping it into his mouth, he added, "Long time no see."

---------------

_Amu's POV_

I could barely believe what that masochistic pig had done! He'd just walked right in and made himself comfortable right there next to me, throwing his arm around my shoulders as if he _had the right to do so! _The nerve! He'd been telling me for how long that nothing could come of our relationship; our age difference was too much for him. What had so suddenly changed that it didn't matter anymore?! No one was allowed to yank me around on a chain, especially the man I _planned_ to push out of my life completely! The jerk.

"Tsukiyomi," Souma said with a nod of his head, smiling happily. "Can't complain, seeing as I'm here on a date with the lovely girl you're currently holding on to."

I knew that Kuukai hadn't noticed my fury at this point because the smile stayed in place, as did he. And if anyone knew when to run, it would be Kuukai and I was something you ran from. I tried to discreetly give him a sign that he should leave _and take Ikuto with him_, but he didn't seem to catch my drift. He probably knew that whenever her older brother visited town, Utau was following close behind. She'd developed a close attachment to Ikuto when their father had disappeared and her mother had remarried and she relied on him for stability. He was the one thing in her life that had never really changed.

"You want me to move?" Ikuto joked, giving _my_ friend a satisfied grin. "'Cause I'm kinda comfy." He snuggled me closer to his side and I had to fight to breathe. He was so _warm_…maybe just a little bit closer….

_What the hell am I doing?!_

Knowing I would back out of my plan early, I did the only thing I could think to do at that time; I took two of my dainty fingers and wrapped them around his wrist, lifting it above my head and dropping his arm to his side as if I were disgusted by it. _Keep to the plan, keep to the plan!_

With a disdainful sneer, I scooted as far away from him as was possible in the circular booth. "Keep your hands to yourself," I said monotonously, though he probably knew without looking at me that I was angry. My eyes would be reflecting that perfectly in the method I usually used to warn off men who bothered me. I couldn't believe I was using it on _Ikuto Tsukiyomi_.

I'd never used it on him before.

Raising one eyebrow, Ikuto briefly glanced around the room, taking in the other people littering the diner. We both knew what they would be thinking. Amu Hinamori refusing a public display from Ikuto Tsukiyomi?! It would be the gossip of the century. I'd always loved it whenever he touched me, nearly purring most of the time, much to my dismay. But had they expected me to wait for him to be ready forever?

Slouching lazily in his seat, Ikuto slung his arm across the back of the booth. "Something the matter, Amu?" he asked calmly, locking his gaze with mine. I knew that look well; he used it on all of his floozies.

That he would even think of me in the same category as his other women brought near-violent rage to the forefront of my mind and body, but I held it back, keeping my voice bored and cold. "Just because I don't want _you_ touching me doesn't mean that something's wrong, Tsukiyomi."

I could practically read his mind as first shock, then anger filled his eyes. He didn't think he would ever have to face rejection? Well, it was time the conceited prick got a taste of his own medicine. And it seems it was just what the doctor ordered when his eyes narrowed, and he growled, "I know you better than that, _Amu_. What's going on?"

Kuukai's eyes narrowed as well, but in confusion instead of anger. "Uh…well, I better get going. I'm sure one of the aunts is looking for me." Sliding out of his spot, he walked away, carefully keeping his eyes on his destination as an alternative to the scene unfolding before him, knowing better than to become a part of it.

_Smart man. I might have gone after him, too, otherwise._

I decided that it was time for me to take my leave as well. Ikuto couldn't waste his time with kids, as he'd told me so many times, so I would go on my way and finish packing my things.

"Where the hell are you going?" he demanded, standing with me as I rose from the booth. I kept my back ramrod straight so that I wouldn't shake, feeling a small part of my heart break. _Don't worry, Amu_, I told myself. _Someday, this will all just be memories and nothing more._

---------------

He couldn't believe how much she'd changed! Where was the girl who nearly attacked him whenever he came back, who demanded he pay attention to _her_, not anyone else. Hell, he'd been looking forward to it, now that she was finally a fucking adult! What had happened since he'd been gone?

Since she'd been able to walk and talk, she'd been after him. He could remember one time when she was only about two and she waddled right out of her house and over to his. She'd lifted her arms and said, "I want up, Ikuto." She'd stood there for several long minutes until finally he'd given in and picked her up. When he'd carried her back to her parents, who were shockingly unconcerned, they'd merely smiled, saying, "You're all she talks about, Ikuto." Then, when he tried to give her back to her parents, she'd screamed, "I said _Ikuto_! Ikuto, Ikuto, Ikuto!"

He should have known then how much trouble she'd be. Everything he did was suddenly shadowed by a tiny, bright-haired girl with a big mouth. Nothing was sacred in her eyes. One time, when she'd been twelve, she'd even walked right into his bathroom while he was showering, ordering him to find whoever had taken her bike and get it back. When he'd asked what her bike had to do with him, she'd blinked her big doe eyes and said innocently, "Isn't that your job?" Of course, after twelve years of him pampering her, she'd actually thought it _was_ his job to make sure all her things stayed where they were supposed, that she didn't get into trouble.

This worked well, seeing as he seemed to have a sixth sense as to when she would need him. A sense that would continue bothering him until he found her and put a stop to whatever nonsense she was a part of.

"Away from here," Amu said, breaking into his short reminiscence with her harsh tone. She was just going to _leave_? "_You _scared my date off!" she accused, turning to go. _Is she actually serious? Is she actually walking away from me?_ "Goodbye, Tsukiyomi. It's been _swell_!" She started to storm off.

Her sarcasm brought anger—fueled mostly by fear—rising in the pit of his stomach. What the hell had pissed her off? He hadn't even _done_ anything! It was the first time he'd spoken to her in over a year; what could he have done?!

Walking after her, he snarled, "Damnit, Amu—"

Spinning on her heel in a flash of blue and black—what the _hell _was she wearing?!—she stomped back to him, tilting her head back to better glare at him. "You"—she pointed a finger into his chest, poking him—"can shove anything you have to say or think right up your uptight ass! I have _nothing_ to say to you! _Nothing!_" The last word was a shrill shriek that made his ears ring, but somehow he managed to keep from flinching.

He kept his expression cool as he leaned down to go eye-to-eye with her. "Amu, I highly suggest that you drop that finger before I get angry." _Too late_, he thought sourly. _And today was beginning to be such a _good_ one._

Putting her hands on her hips, she mocked, "Oh, so you're gonna turn big and green now, hmmm? Maybe throw a few cars around? Sounds like more of a personal problem to me." Glancing around the diner, she motioned with an outstretched arm to the other occupants, her face flaming with embarrassment. "Now, see what you did?! You just had to make a scene, didn't you? It's not enough that you came back to town after—what, a year, maybe two? Why do you even come back, anyways?"

Gritting his teeth, he forced a sardonic grin onto his face. "Just to mess with your head, Amu. Or maybe it's the magic of the diner; isn't this where you first told me you were going to marry me someday?" The second the words left his mouth, he wanted to take them back. It was a dirty technique, especially in front of practically half the town. She would be even more embarrassed, he knew, by the mere mention of that day, which would only serve to get her angrier. He wouldn't get any brownie points for it.

Sure enough, her face lit even brighter with her blush as her back straightened even more. _She keeps that up and she's gonna need back surgery,_ he though wryly. Her arms dropped to her sides as if she was in slow motion and she took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment. He knew she would be counting to ten, just as he had told her to often whenever she got angry as a kid. It had obviously become a habit for her, and that pleased him for some reason.

When her amber eyes opened, they were filled with cold indifference. Then she said the one thing he never thought he would hear from her.

"Go fuck yourself, Tsukiyomi."

---------------

The town was buzzing with the news of Amu Hinamori blowing off Ikuto Tsukiyomi, even going so far as to tell him to go fuck himself. Could it be true that Amu had finally decided to move away from her infatuation with the notorious traveler and onto someone new?

Most of the men wondered, _Is it finally okay to ask her out?_ Many had had to deal with either a furious, visiting Ikuto if they so much as touched Miss Hinamori, or a distant Amu that was always looking for Mr. Tsukiyomi, trying to see if she had gotten him jealous. But if there had been a tiff between the two, would there be a chance for them?

The women, however, varied.

_Is Ikuto free now?_

_What happened?_

_Did Amu actually find someone else?_

_Oh, no! Ikuto's married!_

"No, no, no!" Reiko Souma shouted at her sisters-in-law. "This can't possibly be right! Amu can't actually believe that she shouldn't be with Ikuto!" Turning to glare at the two other women, she put her hands on her wide hips. "This has been set in stone for _years_! Even before the incident in the diner! How could she pull the rug out from under us this way?!"

The group of old women stood in their great-nephew's kitchen, having just gotten a phone call with the heartbreaking news: Amu Hinamori had rejected Ikuto Tsukiyomi.

"W-well, maybe it's…it's just a mistake! Surely no one would actually believe that little Amu is over—" after a sharp glare from the other women, Suki clammed up, blushing furiously and looking at the ground. As the most passive of the three, she usually didn't speak up much, but when she did, it was hopeful and optimistic.

"Everyone in this town knows one thing that has never changed and will never change, and that is that the power of our diner is undeniable! There has never been a single person who has said 'I love you' in that diner and had their heartbroken afterwards. I will _not_ allow Amu Hinamori to be the first!" Reiko hissed. Rubbing her chin, she wondered in a thoughtfully dark way, "Now, how to get to the bottom of this without causing complete and utter chaos among our town."

The three women looked at each other with evil smirks on their faces as they all came to the same conclusion. "Kuukai." They all treasured their nephew and would usually keep their noses out of _his_ business. But desperate times called for desperate measures.

"If anyone can find out what's going on in Little Amu's head, it'll be Kuukai," Mika said, a clever smile on her face. "The only problem will be his pesky 'it's none of your business or mine' attitude. But how do we turn this so he'll _have_ to find out?" A light bulb lit. "Ah-ha! I know _exactly _what we need to do." Looking to the other women, she asked, "Are you ready to use the most underhanded tactics to ensure the reputation of our diner?"

Of course, they were. As the Souma women, there was nothing that would keep them from their goal.

---------------

Amu lounged on her bed, staring up at the ceiling of her brightly colored room. _Can I really just take off? This is my hometown. I've never gone anywhere far away before. Especially not alone. Am I really going to be able to do this?_

Her thoughts raced past in her mind, making her wonder just how ready for her Freedom Flight, as her mother called it, she actually was. Could she go through with it and move away from everything she knew?

_If Ikuto was able to do it, then I should be able to, too,_ she reminded herself. It was the thought that had brought her to the conclusion that she should go. She _wanted_ to get away from everything here; it was just that she _was_ a bit afraid of the big bad world. What if she didn't meet anyone? She was a social person, but what if no one out in the real world liked her?

There were people that liked her, loved her, here. They stood beside her through a lot, and if she decided to come back, they would be there to welcome her. If she didn't, they would keep in touch.

So maybe leaving wasn't so bad. She would always have a home to return to if it came to that.

Besides, then she could get away from the constant attachment of Ikuto Tsukiyomi's name to hers.

"You look weird when you're deep in thought," that sarcastic voice said from her bedroom door.

She immediately sat up, glaring at the door. She hadn't even heard him open it! "Who gave you permission to come in here, Iku—Tsukiyomi? I don't believe _I_ did." _Leave before I forget my resolution, asshole! I don't want you in here!_

He smirked. "No, it was you. You used to tell me all the time that whenever I came home, I would always be welcome in yours." Hands in his pockets, he strode towards her, keeping tat stupid grin on his face. He stopped a foot from her bed, uncaring of the look of complete disgust she gave him. "Scoot over," he ordered quietly, obviously believing she would do just that.

"No. Go away."

She could barely contain her flinch. Hearing her own voice, she realized she sounded like a sulky child. She was twenty-two years old, damnit! Couldn't she sound _grown up_ just this one time?!

His smirk faded into a small smile and he gently pushed her over. Trying her best to keep him from completing his goal, she grabbed the edge of the bed with one hand and kept herself as heavy as possible. "I said go away! I don't want you here!" _I am such a baby!_

When he sighed, she thought he would give up.

She had known him for much too long to be as surprised as she was when he merely scooped her up and dropped her on the other side of her queen-sized bed.

She hadn't demanded the larger bed as a luxury for herself as her parents had thought. It had actually been for the nights when, as teenagers, she and Ikuto would just lay there and talk. It had just been a friendly thing; she hadn't expected anything from him. But she had always been so ecstatic whenever he would open up to her while they sat there, cherishing the small part of him that belonged to only her. Most of the time, he would have to sneak in through her balcony, but her parents had figured it out soon enough. And after a brief talk with Ikuto, they'd decided that it truly was as innocent as it seemed and didn't think much of it. But Tsumugu had warned Ikuto that if he found out it was anything more, he would lock Amu away and throw the key in the nearest lake.

Now, however, the larger bed was a nuisance as he settled himself on his back beside her. Sitting up, she tried to get off the bed as quickly as possible; there was no way she would stay there with him. But Ikuto had other ideas. Reaching out one long arm, he wrapped it around her waist, forcing her to lie back on the bed. He shifted so that they were face to face, lying on their sides on the bed.

"Mind telling me what's going on, Amu?"

His voice was slow and steady, but it shook her. What was she supposed to say to that?! His eyes were so curious, so worried. What could have been going through his mind? She tried to think of something—anything!—she could say to him that would make him back off, but she had learned most of her stubborn tendencies from the man staring back at her. Of course he wouldn't let it go. He would pester her until she was finally forced to give him an honest answer.

Narrowing her eyes, she just glared at him for a few long moments. _Maybe I'll get lucky and he'll just back down._

No such luck. He gave her an impatient look and tightened his arm around her, forcing her closer. _God help me,_ she thought.

"Amu, do you really take me for an idiot? Or do you just think I don't know you at all?" he asked, pinning her with his gaze. "I can read you better than you can yourself, so don't think that you're getting away with what you said earlier."

"_Go fuck yourself, Tsukiyomi."_

She swallowed harshly. Oh, God. Had she really said that? It was just that she was so angry and he hadn't been willing to just let her leave. Why couldn't he just let stuff like that go? "I have the right to say whatever I want, Iku—Tsukiyomi. You can't control me."

He raised one eyebrow at her. "Amu, the next time you call me Tsukiyomi, I'm going to paddle your ass."

---------------

_What a weird cliff-hanger. Lol. Sorry about that. I think I'll be updating this a lot because I really like the story line and ideas just keep buzzing in my head.  
Well, I gotta get to work. Bottles and diapers galour!  
__**Niixx**__  
P.S. Next chapter, at the end, I will be stating all my new characters (I plan on most of them showing up in my _much longer_ second chapter, anyways) and I would like to see if anyone sees a connection between the characters and some Shugo Chara! characters that aren't in this fiction because of their…err…inability to fit in. Lol. (hint hint)_


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